Spanish star confirm he wants to play for Arsenal this season under Unai Emery

Lucas Perez is aiming to convince Unai Emery to keep him at Arsenal for the coming season, but he may still end up leaving before the window closes.

ElDesmarque write that Perez hopes to win Emery over in pre-season, so the new Arsenal head coach will have the forward in his plans going into the 2018/19 campaign. However, if he fails then it’s still very possible the 29-year-old moves on, and his future is ‘unknown’ at this stage.

The Spanish outlet are reporting from the point of view of Deportivo La Coruna, the forward’s old club, so they make a point of noting that even if Perez decides to leave Arsenal, it won’t be to return to Deportivo. After all, the former La Liga side were relegated last season.

However, they add that Deportivo are keeping track of the player nonetheless, so they can make a move when they hopefully successfully return to the Spanish top flight.

As for Perez’s attempts to prove himself to Emery, it’s going pretty well so far. The forward has looked sharp in training, and he managed an assist for Eddie Nketiah in the team’s first pre-season match.

That might earn him even more favour than a goal would have, because if Perez is going to find a place in the team, it’s more likely to be in a wide position than up front. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have the central striker role covered already.

If he does stick around, there will be plenty of chances for Perez to play in the first half of the season. Europa League participation led to heavy rotation last campaign, and that’s likely to be the same again this year. He just needs to keep taking these opportunities, and maybe he can work his way into the first-team.